Today is the holy disappearance day of Gopal Bhatta Goswami, who is one amongst the Six Goswamis. There are instructions for us to remember Vaishnava; pray for their mercy, and sing their glories on their appearance and disappearance days. Vaishnava are endowed with all powers, and remembering them is the powerful devotional practice by which we can get everything. So, our Guruvarga instructed us to remember them daily, and especially on their appearance and disappearance days,

guru, vaiṣṇava, bhagavān,—tinera smaraṇa
tinera smaraṇe haya vighna-vināśana
anāyāse haya nija vāñchita-pūraṇa
(Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita Adi-lila 1.20)

“By remembering Guru, Vaishnava and Bhagavan all obstacles in our devotional path will be eradicated, and all our desires are fulfilled.”

These instructions are given repeatedly, as it is difficult for the conditioned souls to remember this always. Hiranyakashipu asked his son Prahlad, “How did your mind get attached to the Lord? Your Guru, Shanda and Amarka, did not instruct you anything about Him. You did not meet any Vaishnava there, then how did it happened so?” Prahlad Maharaj replied,

matir na kṛṣṇe parataḥ svato vā,
mitho ’bhipadyeta gṛha-vratānām,
adānta-gobhir viśatāṁ tamisraṁ,
punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām
(Srimad Bhagavatam 7.5.30)

"Because of their uncontrolled senses, persons too addicted to material life make progress toward hellish conditions, and repeatedly chew that which has already been chewed. Thus, their inclination toward Krishna is never aroused, either by their own efforts, by the efforts of others, or by a combination of both."

Our Guru Maharaj used to explain the meaning of the word 'gṛha-vratā' as those who have strong attachment to their family life and non-eternal possessions like their house, objects of sensual enjoyment, etc. These kind of gṛha-vratās may be one, or lakhs or crores in number; they cannot engage the mind of a single person in devotion to the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna.

Just by remembering a Vaishnava, everything will be done, but we cannot remember them with our material sense organs, which are made of the Lord's external potency. By our mind, we can only contemplate the perishable objects of this material world; associates of Supreme Lord are transcendental, beyond the reach of our mind and intelligence.

The gṛha-vratās are those who are attached to their non-eternal material possessions, though saintly persons (mahatma) are also found in the household life. It is said,

na gṛhaṁ gṛham ity āhur gṛhiṇī gṛham ucyate
(Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita Adi-lila 15.27)

Merely a house is not a home, for it is a wife who gives a home its meaning.

If a person gets married and stays with his wife following all the rules and regulations of a family life as described in the scriptures, then he is called a gṛhastha. So there are two classes: gṛhastha and gṛha-vratā (also called gṛhamedhi). For a gṛha-vratā, the center of life is his family only. Six hundred crores (the population of the whole world) of strain-purush (persons overly attached to women), henpecked persons, cannot give devotion to even a single person. They are very much attached to their wives. It is said in the scriptures, ‘putrārthe kriyate bhāryā—one should accept a wife only to beget children.’ Accepting a wife (entering gṛhastha asraṁ) is also a part of varṇāśrama-dharma (the four religious orders based on Varna and Ashram). Unrestricted bodily relation without following the rules and regulations of varṇāśrama-dharma is not under the Vedic culture; it has come from outside (outside India), and it has no permanent existence. Nobody is going to stay eternally in this world. Though varṇāśrama-dharma is not the real nature of the soul (svarūpa-dharma), it will gradually take one to sanātana-dharma, therefore, it is also called sanātana-dharma. The end objective there is to take one to sanātana-dharma. Our Ṛṣi-munis are not foolish. One who always thinks about his material comforts, happiness, or about his body only is called gṛha-vratā. If they are to go somewhere, first they say, “We will come to your Math; you make nice arrangements for our stay.” If they do not find bodily comforts, they will not visit those places again.

But Gopal Bhatta Goswami, and all the Six Goswamis, they used to stay beneath a tree. They never desired any material comforts or happiness. Therefore, they were rare, very rare! One who has strong attachment for body and bodily relations are known as gṛha-vratā, sense enjoyer. They consider their body to be everything—‘deha sarvasva vādi.’ Such kinds of people cannot give devotion to a single person.

We will not be able to sing the glories of the Supreme Lord and His devotees by our own intellect, as they are transcendental. So it is impossible. If we are able to do so with our capability, then they become prākṛta—of this material world. It is said, pranatādi gamyam mudher avedhyam—the Supreme Lord and His associates manifest themselves only to surrendered souls, not the foolish who try to understand them with their own capability. (And what is surrender?) It is said,

ānukūlyasya saṅkalpaḥ
prātikūlyasya varjanam
rakṣiṣyatīti viśvāso
goptṛtve varaṇaṁ tathā
ātma-nikṣepa-kārpaṇye
ṣaḍ-vidhā śaraṇāgatiḥ
(Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita Madhya-lila 22.100)

"The six limbs of surrender (śaraṇāgati) are: accepting things favorable to devotional service and rejecting unfavorable things, having strong faith that Krishna will always protect, accepting Krishna as one’s master, giving oneself fully to His service, and humility."

The real surrender comes when we surrender to a pure devotee. Merely by speaking from the mouth it will not come. Therefore, we should remember Vaishnava, pray for their mercy, and sing their glories. But how can a conditioned soul can do this? There is also no other way to cross over the ocean of material existence. We should beg (pray from our heart) for their grace. By the grace of Narada Goswami, who does not have attachment to any object of this material world, Prahlad's mind became attached to the Supreme Lord. By bathing in the dust of the lotus feet of such devotees, by getting their grace, we will get devotion. It did not happen by the efforts of Shanda and Amarka, and it also did not happen by Prahlad’s own effort. All other things are rejected (devotion will be possible only by the grace of pure devotees). There is scarcity of pure devotion. It is very rare, but we must try to obtain the grace of Vaishnava, because there is no other way for our eternal welfare. Guru and Vaishnava are merciful; they are the personified forms of Supreme Lord’s mercy. It is said in Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita,

guru kṛṣṇa-rūpa hana śāstrera pramāṇe,
guru-rūpe kṛṣṇa kṛpā karena bhakta-gaṇe
(Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita Adi-lila 1.45)

According to the scriptures, Guru is non-different from Krishna and Krishna showers His grace in the form of Guru or Sadhu.

In the fourth Shloka of Śikṣāṣṭakam, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says, “You do not want Me. If you want Me from the core of your heart, as I am equal to all, so that very moment you will get Me. But you do not want Me from the core of your heart. How should you call Me? Say from the core of your heart, na dhanaṁ—I do not want any wealth.”

We speak externally, but inside we think, “Without wealth how is it possible to maintain my life? I need to make my daughter marry, I have to do this, I have to do that, and without money how would it be possible?” We may say anything externally, but the Supreme Lord is bhāva-grāhī (He knows what is there in our heart) not bhāṣā-grāhī (He does not consider what you speak from your mouth). Supreme Lord is the master of infinite universes and opulences. Will there be any scarcity for a person who surrenders to Him? Have you heard about Sanatan Goswami? He was the Prime Minister in the assembly of the King of West Bengal, but later he used to do mādhukarī (collect his food from going door to door) in Vraja-dhāma. He had a Parasmani (touchstone) by which he could have made lakhs and lakhs of rupees, but he did not bother with it and threw it in the garbage, completely forgetting about it. By getting the order from Shiva, a Brahmin from Vardhaman came to Sanatan Goswami.

He asked him, “Do you have any wealth with you?”

Sanatan Goswami replied, “I had a lot of wealth with me, but now I am a beggar.”

“But Shivaji has sent me here, he told that you have some valuable wealth with you.”

Sanatan Goswami thought, “Shivaji would never speak a lie; I must have something.” When the Brahmin was about to return, Sanatan Goswami called him: “Oh, now I remember. You can search in this garbage. You will find one touchstone here. If you touch it to iron, it will become gold. You may take it.”

He got the touchstone and became very happy. He thought, “Who could be wealthier than me?”

When he was about to go back happily, suddenly something came to his mind and he asked Sanatan Goswami, “See! You had a touchstone but you did not even remember that you have it, so I think you must have some superior wealth than this. I am desirous to get that.”

Actually, Shivaji wanted to give him the association of a pure devotee so that he could obtain the topmost wealth from him. When the Brahmin asked about this superior wealth, Sanatan Goswami told him, “If you want that wealth, then you have to throw this touchstone in Yamuna, then I shall give you that wealth.” (After he threw the touchstone in Yamuna) Sanatan Goswami awarded him the real wealth, the Holy Name of the Lord, and instructed him to chant always.

We do not want (the Supreme Lord) from our heart. Mahaprabhu further says, ‘na janaṁ—I do not want son, wife etc.’ We may say so externally, but internally we still have these desires. Lord will give you what you want. He will not see what you have worn, white clothes or saffron clothes; He will see what is there in your heart. Ravan abducted Sitadevi in the guise of a Tridandi Sannyasi; he misused something and he got the result. You cannot cheat the Supreme Lord.

Today is the holy disappearance day of Gopal Bhatta Goswami. He appeared as the son of Venkata Bhatta in a village near Shrirangam called Belgundi, on the banks of river Kaveri, in South India. He who was Ananga Manjari in Krishna-lila has appeared to enrich Mahaprabhu’s pastimes as Gopal Bhatta Goswami. Some say that he is Guna Manjari. Navadvipa-dhama, where Mahaprabhu appeared, is far from the place of Gopal Bhatta Goswami in South India, as the Lord's associates can appear at different places to fulfill His pastimes. Mahaprabhu accepted the Sannyas order at the age of twenty four, then went to Shrirangam, staying at Venkata Bhatta's house at the age of twenty six, at which time Gopal Bhatta Goswami was eight years old. He was only six years old when Mahaprabhu took Sannyas, and saw in a dream that his worshipable Lord, Nandnandan Krishna, who has appeared in the mood of Radharani as Gauranga Mahaprabhu in Navadvipa, has accepted the Sannyas order. In Vraja-dhama, he is serving Krishna in a conjugal mood. When he saw the dream of Mahaprabhu's accepting Sannyas, he started crying intensely, and no one in the house could understand the reason. Then Mahaprabhu again appeared in a dream and took him on His lap, embraced him, and drenched him with tears. Mahaprabhu pacified him. The Lord Himself has appeared to him. If we get the mercy of Gopal Bhatta Goswmai, then automatically we can get the mercy of Mahaprabhu, the combined manifestation of Sri Radha-Krishna. There is no easier way than this to get the mercy of our most worshipable Lord. Just by remembering Gopal Bhatta Goswami, we will get the mercy of Mahaprabhu, so those who are intelligent always do so. Srinivas Acharya, who was a disciple of Gopal Bhatta Goswami, wrote a hymn in which he sang the glories of the Six Goswamis—saḍ-goswāmi-astaka, ‘kṛṣṇotkīrtana’ We can understand their glories by going through it. He sings, ‘sańkhyā-pūrvaka-nāma-gāna-natibhiḥ.’ We also saw that our Gurumaharaj used to sing saḍ-goswāmi-astaka when he visited the Samadhi temple of Gopal Bhatta Goswami in Vrindavan.

Once, Mahaprabhu made his auspicious arrival to Venkata Bhatta's house in Belgundi village to see Gopal Bhatta, giving His association and alleviating his separation grief. Seeing Mahaprabhu's Holy appearance in his house, Venkata Bhatta was astonished, then became extremely happy. He requested Mahaprabhu to stay for the four months of Chaturmasa (the four months of monsoon) in his house. Knowing him to be a strict Vaishnava (following all rules and regulations of Vaishnava philosophy), Mahaprabhu lovingly accepted his request. In reality, His pastime of staying at Venkata Bhatta’s house was to give His mercy to Gopal Bhatta Goswami. The child became very happy to meet his worshipable Lord, and started serving Him by massaging His feet and performing many other services, by which Mahaprabhu became very pleased. Gopal Bhatta also took delight in serving His worshipable object.

At that time Venkata Bhatta performed one pastime. We have heard about Shrivana, where Lakshmi Devi is performing Her penance. Previously, the name of that vana was Bilvavana.

Lakhmi-Narayan is the worshipable Lord for the followers of Ramanujacharya, and they serve Them with great faith. Most people at that time used to worship Lakshmi-Narayan, including Prabodhananda Saraswati, the spiritual master of Gopal Bhatta Goswami. Although Venkata Bhatta was serving from core of the heart, Mahaprabhu observed that he had an element of pride in worshiping Lakshmi-Narayan. He believed that his worshipable deity, Lakshmi-Narayan, is the Supreme worshipable object, and Narayan is the source of all other Avatāras, including Rama, Krishna, etc. His reasoning was that Narayan is never born, while Krishna and Rama take birth. He thought, “Mahaprabhu worships Krishna, the Avatāra of Narayan, while we worship Narayan, the source of all Avatāras.” So he had an element of pride which Mahaprabhu noticed, and one day He asked him in a mild-humored, witty tone, “Venkata, I have heard that no one is equal in opulence to your Lord Narayan, and the same is true for your worshipable Goddess, Lakshmi Devi, who is the potency of Narayan. How fortunate you are! On the other hand, the object of My worship, Krishna, is a cowherd boy. He has no opulences of any kind. He does not have any precious ornaments, and He uses peacock feathers for decoration. He spends His day grazing the cows with the other cowherd boys. My worshipable Goddesses, the Gopis, are also nothing but poor cowherd girls. They earn their livelihood by selling milk and milk products. I wonder, therefore, why your worshipable Lakshmi Devi came to Bilvavana to perform austerities in the hope of gaining Krishna’s company in the Rāsa-līlā (pastimes of Rāsa dance)?”

Venkata Bhatta immediately answered, “What’s wrong with that? Radha’s beloved Krishna is non-different from Lakshmi Devi’s husband, Narayan.”

Rupa Goswami has written in Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu (1.2.59):

siddhāntatas tv abheda ‘pi śrīśa-kṛṣṇa-svarūpayoḥ
rasenotkṛṣyate kṛṣṇa-rūpam eṣā rasa-sthitiḥ
(Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita, Madhya-lila 9.117)

Venkata Bhatta continued, “According to theological doctrine, Krishna and the husband of Lakshmi are identical in essence; what is the fault or question of Her breaking vows of fidelity to Her husband, if She chooses to seek His association and performs austerities to that end?”

Mahaprabhu answered, “I am not saying that there is any fault. I agree that ontologically, Krishna and Narayan are identical. When the Lord performs pastimes of opulence, He is Narayan. When He performs pastimes of sweetness, He is Krishna. She who is Radha in Krishna’s pastimes is Lakshmi Devi in the pastimes of Narayan. Thus, when Lakshmi Devi performs austerities to have the association of Krishna, there is no question of breaking vows of fidelity to Her husband. Thus, She went to perform these austerities in Vrindavan. But I have another question for you: Why, even after trying so hard through such penances to enter into Krishna’s Rāsa-līlā, was Lakshmi Devi still unable to do so? According to you, Narayan is the source of all Avatāras, and Lakshmi Devi is the internal potency of Narayan then She must be capable of doing everything. But why even after such penances, could She not gain entry?”

Venkata Bhatta was terribly distressed at being unable to give the Lord an answer. Mahaprabhu observed his distress and tried to pacify him by saying, “You yourself said that Narayan and Krishna are identical ontologically, siddhāntatas tv abheda ‘pi śrīśa-kṛṣṇa-svarūpayoḥ, rasenotkṛṣyate kṛṣṇa-rūpam eṣā rasa-sthitiḥ, but the superiority of Krishna is due to the excellence in rasa (mellows). Narayan has two and a half of the five principle rasa; śānta, dāsya and half sākhya (friendship in reverence), whereas in Krishna there is a complete manifestation of all twelve rasa, (five principle and seven secondary). He is akhila-rasāmṛta-mūrti —the personified form of all the nectarine mellows, and He performs Rāsa-līlā in mādhurya-rasa (mood of conjugal love). Lakshmi Devi could not get entrance into the Rāsa-līlā because She continued to perform Her austerities in the mood of awe and reverence. As a result, She repeatedly found Herself in the company of Narayan and never with Krishna. If we worship in the mood of reverence following rules and regulations mentioned in the scriptures, then we get the service of Lakshmi-Narayan, not Radha-Krishna.”

If we worship Krishna in Vraja-bhāva, only then can we get Radha-Krishna. It is difficult, but at the same time it is easy also. If we get the association of a pure devotee, a personal associate of Radha-Krishna, then it is very easy.

It is written in Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita where Krishna says,

aiśvarya-gyānete saba jagat miśrita
aiśvarya-śithila-preme nahi mora prīta
(Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita, Adi-lila 4.17)

Everyone wants to worship Me in My majestic aspects but I do not love the worship with awe and reverence.

One cannot get Divine Love of Radha-Krishna by worshiping in that mood. Krishna says, “I am not the object of worship in awe and reverence. You have to worship Me according to My mood.” He also says,

āmāre īśvara māne, āpanāke hīna
tāra preme vaśa āmi nā ha-i adhīna
(Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita, Adi-lila 4.18)

Those who regard Me as Supreme Lord and consider themselves lower than Me, I do not get subdued by their love.

mora putra, mora sakhā, mora prāṇa-pati
ei-bhāve yei more kare śuddha-bhakti
āpanāke baḍa māne, āmāre sama-hīna
sei bhāve ha-i āmi tāhāra adhīna
(Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita, Adi-lila 4.21-22)

Yashoda Devi says, “He is my son,” Cowherd boys say, “He is my friend,” and Gopis say, “He is our beloved.” If one cherishes pure loving devotion to Me, regarding himself as great and considering Me his equal or inferior like mother Yashoda, considering herself superior and taking care of Me as her small child, making Me take bath, cooking for Me, she makes Me eat, everything she does for Me, even Gopis also serve Me—I become subordinate to them.

mātā more putra-bhāve karena bandhana
atihīna-gyāne kare lālana pālana

Considering Me her son, an utterly helpless small child, mother nourishes and protects Me.

sakhā śuddha-sakhye kare, skandhe ārohaṇa
tumi kon baḍa loka,—tumi āmi sama

My friends climb on My shoulders in pure friendship. They say, ‘How come You are superior to us? You and I are equal.’

priyā yadi māna kari’ karaye bhartsana
veda-stuti haite hare sei mora mana

“My beloved consorts reproach Me in a sulky mood that steals My mind from the reverent hymns of the Vedas.”

But we do not understand. You will not get Him by recitation of Vedic hymns. You cannot even comprehend what is the mood of Radhika. Krishna is the original source of all the Avatāras; in Srimad Bhagavatam it is written, kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam—Krishna is the original Supreme Lord. Krishna is the source of all other Divinities; He is the Supreme Lord Himself. He is the source of all Avatāras, the Avatāri (the source of all the incarnations). Once when Krishna left the Rāsa-sthalī (dance arena), all the gopis started crying in His separation. They became ready to leave their bodies. We have not come in contact with Krishna nor have we seen Him, so we cannot understand the mood of gopis. We cannot see Him with our mundane eyes. Only those who have experienced those feelings can understand.

Krishna came in the form of Narayan in front of all the gopis. But they offered Him pranam and went away from that place. They do not want Narayan; they want Krishna only. But when Radharani came there, bound by Her intense love, Krishna could not hide His original form; He could not remain in four-handed Narayan form, and His two hands went inside, and He manifested His original Dvi-bhuja (two handed) Krishna form. By worshiping Radha-Krishna, you can attain topmost bliss. Hearing this from the lotus lips of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the hearts of Venkata Bhatta, all his family members, and Prabodhananda Saraswati all changed, and they became engaged in exclusive devotional service of Radha-Krishna. Gopal Bhatta Goswami took initiation from his uncle, Prabodhananda Saraswati. Prabodhananda Saraswati is different from the Mayavadi Prakashananda Saraswati, who along with his followers had a debate with Mahaprabhu in Kashi. He asked Mahaprabhu, “You are a Sannyasi. Why didn't you engage Yourself in the study of Vedanta (Shankaracharya's commentary on Vedas)? Why do You indulge in chanting and dancing and roaming here and there in the company of fanatics?”

Mahaprabhu refuted all his thoughts by showing His humbleness, and sat down at the place where everyone used to wash their feet. But being attracted by the brilliant illuminating body of Mahaprabhu, Prakashananda Saraswati made Him sit beside him on an āsana. There was a debate between them, and Mahaprabhu refuted all his logical arguments in trying to establish Mayavad philosophy (soham or aham brahmāsmi). Finally, along with thousands of disciples, he surrendered to the Lotus feet of Mahaprabhu. He was Prakashananda Saraswati, who is different from Prabodhananda Saraswati from whom Gopal Bhatta Goswami took initiation. We visit his place during Vraja-mandal-parikrama. Gopal Bhatta Goswami and his family got the mercy of Mahaprabhu to such an extent that his parents told Him to take their son to Vrindavan, and then they both left this world. When one gets a transcendental body, his desire to live in a material body vanishes. He instead relishes transcendental ambrosia with a transcendental body in the transcendental abode of the Supreme Lord. When Gopal Bhatta Goswami arrived in Vrindavan, Rupa Goswami and Sanatan Goswami wrote to Mahaprabhu and informed Him about his arrival. The Lord became overjoyed in hearing this and immediately wrote back, asking them to affectionately take care of him. Rupa Goswami considered Gopal Bhatta to be as dear to him as his own life and engaged him in the worship of Radha-Raman. (Radha-Raman deity was manifested later.) Mahaprabhu had such affection for Gopal Bhatta Goswami that He sent His own belt and kaupina, as well as a wooden seat which He had used, to free him from His separation grief. These items are still worshiped in the Radha-Raman temple.

When Gopal Bhatta Goswami was visiting the pilgrimage centers of Northern India, he visited Gandaki River in Nepal where he found a śālagrāma-śilā. According to some accounts, he had twelve śālagrāma-śilās. He took the śālagrāma-śilā as his worshipable Lord, Vrajendra-nandana Krishna Himself. He came back with śālagrāma-śilā and continued worshiping Him. One day he thought that if his śālagrāma was a deity, he could dress and decorate the Lord beautifully. Thinking like this, he started crying. He slept while crying. The very next morning, he found that the śālagrāma had transformed into the Sri Radha-Raman deity. We do not have faith in the Supreme Lord (He can do anything).

Once when our Gurumaharaj was delivering Harikatha at Prabhupada's place in Bangladesh, one maulvi (a Muslim priest) asked him, “Do you come here to preach idol worship?”

Gurumaharaj told him, “I will answer your question, but before that I want to ask you one thing. Is your God (Khuda) powerful enough to take an elephant of Mymensingh district and to push him through the hole of the smallest ninety-number-needle without even harming a hair on his body?”

When the maulvi remained silent, Srila Gurudeva continued, “Perhaps maulvi Saheb does not know the extent of Khuda’s powers, but The Lord about whom I am talking is All-Powerful, and the fact is that nothing is impossible for that omnipotent Lord. You already accepted Him as All-Powerful, so I need not explain to you more in detail, but when you accept Him as All-Powerful, then there is no scope for doubt that He can do that or He cannot do that. We do not have any authority to doubt Him. Everything is possible for sarva-śaktimān, omnipotent Lord. In any form and at any place, He can appear. He can do anything. We do not have any right to say that He can do that, He cannot do that.”

Sri Sri Radha-Raman self-manifested from a śālagrāma-śilā. It is not a myth or imaginary thing. He manifested to fulfill the desire of His devotee. A pure, surrendered devotee has a vision full of love.

As we have heard before,

sańkhyā-pūrvaka-nāma-gāna-natibhiḥ kālāvasānī-kṛtau
nidrāhāra-vihārakādi-vijitau cātyanta-dīnau ca yau
rādhā-kṛṣṇa-guṇa-smṛter madhurimānandena sammohitau
vande rūpa-sanātanau raghu-yugau śrī-jīva-gopālakau

They worshiped the Supreme Lord in such a mood (bhāva). This is not possible for an ordinary person. They were engaged in chanting the Holy Names of the Lord and singing the glories of the Supreme Lord in a regulated manner. They used to pay obeisances to a thousand Vaishnava daily, not only on appearance or disappearance days, kālāvasānī-kṛtau—they used to spend their whole time in this way, nidrāhāra-vihārakādi-vijitau cātyanta-dīnau—they conquered their sleep and hunger, and they even abstained from roaming here and there for any material enjoyment. They were always meek and humble. That is the topmost wealth. And what is our wealth? A billion rupees! We want a billion rupees. For those who have experienced the highest bliss, for them the material wealth is all meaningless (anartha). Rādhā-kṛṣṇa-guṇa-smṛter madhurimānandena—they used to be completely absorbed in remembering the transcendental qualities of Radha-Krishna and experiencing the highest bliss, which is real bliss and not the material happiness of this word. At last in saḍ-goswāami-astaka it is written,

he rādhe vraja-devīke ca lalite he nanda-sūno kutaḥ
śrī-govardhana-kalpa-pādapa-tale kālindī-vane kutaḥ
ghoṣantāv iti sarvato vraja-pure khedair mahā-vihvalau
vande rūpa-sanātanau raghu-yugau śrī-jīva-gopālakau

They were chanting loudly everywhere in Vrindavana, shouting, "Hey, Queen of Vrindavana, Radharani! Where are You? Hey Lalita! Where are You? Hey, son of Nanda Maharaja! Where are You now? Are you just at the feet of the hill of Govardhana, or are You under the trees on the bank of the Yamuna? They were calling loudly and moving here and there in transcendental madness—Hey Radhe, Hey Lalite, Hey Nandanandan Krishna, Where are You all now?" Ghoṣantāv iti sarvato vraja-pure khedair mahā-vihvalau.’ They were calling them, overwhelmed in tremendous separation grief, and what am I doing? I am crying for perishable material wealth. I lost all my money. Lakshmi Devi has not given me wealth. I lost my dear one, continuously burning in the fire of three-fold miseries. I am completely drowned in the ocean of life and death, moving here and there overwhelmed with material madness. I am moving in the cycles of birth and death in this world. Exactly opposite, here they (Six Goswamis) are overwhelmed and moving here and there in transcendental bliss. Being a poor mendicant, meek and humble, in transcendental madness they are roaming here and there.

So, today is the disappearance day of Gopal Bhatta Goswami, the dear most associate of the Lord. I want to add one more thing. How did Gopinath Pujari become the disciple of Gopal Bhatta Goswami? One day, Gopal Bhatta went to visit the town of Saharanpura, not far from Haridwar. There was one simple and devoted Brahmin there, who got engaged in the service of Gopal Bhatta Goswami in a most unpretentious manner. He had no children, but he had the desire to have one son. Gopal Bhatta Goswami knew the desire of the Brahmin, and blessed him that he would have a devotionally inclined male child. The Brahmin promised Gopal Bhatta Goswami that he would give his son to him in his service. This son was Gopinath Pujari. Similarly, Gangadhar Bhattacharya also did not have any children. When Mahaprabhu was about to accept Sannyas order in Katwa, a barber was not capable to remove His hair. He was crying, as he did not want to see Mahaprabhu in that austere form. He was crying, and all other persons present there were also crying. He took one whole day from morning to evening to shave Mahaprabhu’s head. Gangadhara Bhattacharya arrived there; he was overwhelmed with grief and was crying constantly, while calling out the names, “Ha Chaitanya! Ha Chaitanya! Ha Chaitanya!” When other devotees saw him intoxicated in Divine Love for Mahaprabhu, they thought he must be a servant of Mahaprabhu, and they named him Chaitanya Das. His wife’s name was Lakshmipriya. Chaitanya Das was indifferent to worldly things, but one day he suddenly felt a strong desire to have a son. He thought, “Why has such a desire come in my heart? He told this to his wife. She responded by telling him to go to Puri immediately to submit to Mahaprabhu. They arrived in Jagannath Puri and met Mahaprabhu. Before they could speak their heart, the Lord Himself spoke, understanding their wish to have a son: “They came to Jagannath Dev with a desire.” The other devotees were curious about what desire Mahaprabhu was talking about.

Mahaprabhu replied, “Chaitanya Das desires to have a child. Indeed, his wife will soon give birth to a jewel of a son, who will be named Srinivas.”

Srinivas wrote saḍ-goswāami-astaka ,

sańkhyā-pūrvaka-nāma-gāna-natibhiḥ kālāvasānī-kṛtau,
nidrāhāra-vihārakādi-vijitau cātyanta-dīnau ca yau
rādhā-kṛṣṇa-guṇa-smṛter madhurimānandena sammohitau
vande rūpa-sanātanau raghu-yugau śrī-jīva-gopālakau.

I pay my innumerable obeisances to the lotus feet of Gopal Bhatta Goswami, and pray for his causeless mercy. May he forgive all my offenses committed knowingly or unknowingly, and award me the service of his lotus feet. May he award me the service of his worshipable Lord, Sri Radha-Raman. I pray to him on today’s Tithi. We have not seen him, but we have seen our Gurudeva, who came in his disciplic succession, so I offer innumerable obeisances to the lotus feet of Gurudeva, who is the rescuer of fallen souls. I beg for his forgiveness for all the offenses I committed to his lotus feet and not following his orders. Forgiving all my offenses, may he award me the service of his lotus feet as well as his worshipable Lord, Sri Sri Radha-Shyamsundar.